Love Still Wins

Love still wins. I say this because I have experienced it and I see it. It is who God is and it is what He promotes.There is something about pointing out the diversity and the wrongness of the world that gives us a moment of feeling right. But, it's fleeting. The very act of pointing out the division, in and of itself, promotes division.

In the more true world of actual face to face dialogue and/or real talking, I DO see love. For example, yesterday I worked with adolescents who are in residential treatment. From the way they dressed, to the color of their skin, to their various backgrounds and geographical locations, I saw acceptance for the other who was different than herself. I saw teenagers dialoguing who in the school hallways may not have even glanced at each other. It is hard to hate when you are up close, bearing your pain and having compassion for another's in a safe place.

Love wins because it sees beyond the surface. It stops to think about another's behavior, even bad behavior, and what might be behind it. It takes a second, third, and 10th glance. It pauses. It asks the question, what is it in me that is responding to what it is in them? Then, it holds that "thing" before the Lord and asks for His perspective.

This morning I connected with a person who had been wronged and deeply hurt. Love does not pretend that things don't happen or that something doesn't hurt. Love is real and authentic. It says, "This is my broken heart. This is my fear. This is my anger." Love does not look to the left or to the right. Sometimes, it means taking our broken heart, fear, and anger and walking through, straight to Jesus - our WELCOMING Jesus. Because, He will never exploit, cheapen, or use our pain for a wrong agenda. NO. He will ever so tenderly treasure our pain and the vulnerability in its offering. Love says, "Jesus, heal me and show me how to respond." I had the privilege this morning of learning from this person. She showed me what love does. Love is classy.

Acts of love are present everywhere if we are looking for them. And, it is good for us to look for them. They are not always in the most obvious places. It is a lovely text I received yesterday out of the blue from someone I hadn't connected with in a while. It is the wrong that has been graciously overlooked. It is the receptionist on the other end of the phone who took her time to listen. It is the 15-second reprieve of watching a couple cardinals God placed outside the window. It is the neighbor who is welcomed over anytime to talk because his wife is dying. It is the groceries anonymously left on a front porch. It is clamping down on our tongue when a retort is ready. Love is found in humanizing people even the ones who get under our skin or hurt us. This includes social media. It is imagining a face, a heart, a home, and a LIFE. NOT a keyboard. NOT an enemy.

All it takes are three difficult students to label a whole grade as "bad." But, the bad label isn't true, is it? Yet we will talk about the bad ad nauseam. If we look for bad, it is all we will see. If bad is what makes us feel better, it is what we will focus on. If bad fits our agenda, we will continue pushing it. If bad settles our pain even temporarily, we will reach for it. We will sleep with it and swim in it. We will breathe it. Until we are left sitting on the floor with our head in our hands because it doesn't work.

Always, I preach to myself.

Love wins because it was love that motivated Jesus Christ to give up His life for us. The victory is already His and now it is ours as well. "Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love." (1 John 4: 7 & 8)

So, children of God, look for love. Promote love. Share love. Examine love. Study love. Go back to love. Let yourself BE loved. Give love. And, KNOW THE LOVER, JESUS. You are worth it.

Dee M. Kostelyk